Tuesday, November 29, 2016

SCATTERED HAMLETis honky tonk
metal mixed
with enough octane to drive in an 18 wheeler. Created to capture the
essence of growing up in the country while giving nods to the original classic
rock and outlaw country pioneers, SCATTERED HAMLET is one part LYNYRD SKYNYRD and MOLLY HATCHET and one part MOTORHEAD and DOWN, featuring a sleazy southern
inﬂuence laced with heavy rock elements. SCATTERED HAMLET’s influences range from
southern rock to groove metal to doom metal with the attitude of punk rock.
With humble origins all across the US and a relentless touring schedule
of 100+ shows all across America, the band makes no apologies for the equal
love of HARLEY DAVIDSONS, honky tonks, LES PAULS, MARSHALLS, shotguns and
classic American symbolism. Their debut full length album, SKELETON DIXIE,
was produced by two time Grammy nominated producer JASON DONAGHY(ROB ZOMBIE,
JOHN 5, THE MURDER DOLLS) and mastered by legend HOWIE WEINBERG (PANTERA,
SLAYER, WHITE ZOMBIE, DANZIG). The band has amassed a strong underground
following called “Hell Riders” who maintain their own “chapters” (fan clubs)
independent of the band. The band’s new album SWAMP REBEL MACHINE has been released through BUCK MOON PRODUCTIONS. The album
was produced and mixed by JASON DONAGHY and JAKE RODENHOUSE and contains 11
supercharged anthems.

Monday, November 28, 2016

Readers may not share in our nervousness and apprehension in what a TRUMP presidency has to offer and that's fine but this is where we're at as a publication right now. The number of things that have us excited these days a minimal outside of the release of ROGUE ONE - A STAR WARS STORY and new music from one of our favorite bands in the past couple of years - CITY OF THE WEAK. Fronted by the enigmatic and most-definitely-photogenic front woman STEF WITH AN F, CITY OF THE WEAK is a band that has stood out form the crowd with their not-so-subtle approach to a brand of pop rock that one finds themselves banging their heads. The band set the public up for some pleasant surprises with the release of their 2014 EP DISCLOSURE which had yielded the singles WHITE FIRE ALARM, JUST ANOTHER EULOGY and THE BLAME GAME (all packaged lovingly with some top notch music videos proudly displaying Ms. WITH AN F's undeniable charisma and star power). In the spring of 2017 STEF and the boys will be releasing their first ever LP. Preceding this release is another anthemic stomper CENSOR THIS with a music video that winks at the electoral process that is coming into question. Seriously, we're not trying to make this political. 2017 is going to be huge year for CITY OF THE WEAK. All you've got to do is give CENSOR THIS a listen and realize this band has the pop smarts to make rock n roll great again.

Friday, November 25, 2016

On
Sunday, November 20th at
the Student Union Building of the University of New Mexico Campus,
the university Native American student group THE KIVA CLUB presented
the WATER IS LIFE BENEFIT CONCERT FOR THE STANDING ROCK LAKOTA TRIBE
in an effort to raise money for the men and women protesting the
DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE. The six hour show featured talent that has
been featured here on rock is red before such as FRANK WALN,
INNASTATE and RADMILLA CODY but also some new voices with some
surprising messages and sounds. We were in attendance and we managed
to score some interviews with the likes of FRANK WALN, the punk band
WEEDRAT and Navajo hip hop artist DEF-I. You'll be hearing all of
those interviews in this latest edition of ROCK IS RED. The band
INNASTATE got the crowned going with
their infectious live set but before they did they presented their
brand new music video for the song WATER IS LIFE featuring EMMET
SHKEME GARCIA of NATIVE ROOTS, rapper DEF-I and the spoken words and
saxophone of JOY HARJO.

Monday, November 21, 2016

As
a child who attended pow wows and various Indian-themed conferences
thanks to my mother working for the NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN
INDIANS (NCAI), I would often retreat into fantasy and play with my STAR
WARS action figures with some of the other children while the adults
did their thing. Now, at the age of 41, I have attended the first ever
INDIGENOUS COMIC CON at the HISPANIC CULTURAL CENTER in Albuquerque, NM
and to call the experience "surreal" was an understatement. It had all
of the elements of a pow-wow, an Indian art show, a conference and
sci-fi convention complete with cosplayers. It was the childhood pow wow
experience complete with droids, DARTH VADER and some storm troopers.
No event with COMIC CON in it's title would be be complete without any
of these elements, but this one was different. This event was all about
Native people creating imagery and stories that define them as people.
One of those people is ARIGON STARR - the creator of SUPER INDIAN - whom
ROCK IS RED has profiled previously. At this event we also got to meet
Mdewakanton Sioux writer Z.M. THOMAS - the owner of TREPIDATION COMICS
and creator of SIOUX FALLS - a steampunk comic inspired by the DAKOTA
UPRISING of 1862. Since iconography is essential in comic art the
subject of mascots and taking charge of the imagery that defines us as
native people made all the sense in the world to be included in this
event and the presence and wisdom of SUZAN HARJO was most welcomed.
Accompanying HARJO were Standing Rock Sioux filmmakers JOHN and KEN
LITTLE to discuss their upcoming film MORE THAN A WORD: MASCOTS AND POP
CULTURE REPRESENTATION.

Monday, November 14, 2016

To say that the new SEASONS AFTER record MANIFESTO is an evolution would be an understatement. The album set to release in November 11th, 2016 is a brash declaration of the policies, goals, and opinions of a band that has weathered the storm and come back with a vengeance.
Building on past radio success with three Top 40 singles and over 3.5
million YOUTUBE views, the band has grown, matured, endured, and
developed a chip on their shoulder that results in a blistering
array of songs that will satiate the tastes of both rock and metal
music fans alike. Guitarist JIMMY BEATTIE states, "This album was
written with nothing but the truth in mind. It's about the unspoken
realities that a lot of us live with, and some of the hard truths we all
face at one time or another. The idea is to let listeners know that
they are not alone, and that someone understands. We can find each other in the dark." Listeners can expect to experience a variety of emotions ranging from rage to bliss and everything in between. The band has truly arrived in thunderous fashion with this record and successfully bridged the gap and improved on their already vast catalog of songs. The desperation and longing for something more truly translates on this record. Having toured coast-to-coast
multiple times, the band is primed and ready to do it again to further
grow their already rabid fan-base, and showcase what their hard work and
dedication have brought forth in the form of their newest release, MANIFESTO.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Given
ROCKWIRED's penchant for the heavy stuff in terms of music and in light
of the all that has happened with this country's electorate in the past
couple of days, it feels good when we get a chance to turn down the
volume and easy into something as satisfying at singer songwriter TIM
HOULIHAN's newest album ANOTHER ORION. HOULIHAN's heartfelt Americana
approach is given some extra gravitas thanks to KEVIN BOWE's ace
production but the songs are where its at on this catalog of material
that speaks eloquently on life and love and all of the whimsy that is
attached to it. The opening track and first single I GET LONESOME TOO is
a plucky number filled with instrumental charms here and there. It
could almost be a country radio hit (not that we have a true grasp of
what was popular in country today, but we'd rather hear this than
anything from BLAKE SHELTON). On SOMEBODY TALK TO JESUS, HOULIHAN gets
political and in this post election haze the song probably has more
resonance than ever.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

The
best music out there is the music that tells a story. Even if there are
no words involved. Russian-born guitar virtuoso JAY KATANA has a story
to tell through music and images in his new EP release BLEEDING
BOYFRIEND VOL.1. It's all here! The ups and downs of love on the
nightclub scene gone right and completely wrong and illustrated in stark
black and white and punctuated with a sound that marries electronic
dance music with heavy metal guitars. BLEEDING BOYFRIEND VOL. 1 is
indeed a stylish offering from a talent that will have everyone asking
for KATANA's business card. A rock n roll visionary has been born and we
are almost certain there will be an enthusiastic audience along for the
ride.

Rock n roll is a driving force that will not be denied. Just ask front man and guitarist DAVE NARUSZEWICZ. After making his musical presence known with the band HEART-SET SELF DESTRUCT and their two LP's, NARUSZEWICZ felt it was time to move on and chase that musical muse that could potentially lead to a wider audience and even wider appeal. After not finding what he was looking for in his native Chicago music scene he went to Los Angeles and reached out to drummer RUSSELL RAY formerly of OLD FASHIONED BEATDOWN. Along with former OLD FASHIONED BEATDOWN guitarist SHAWN PATTERSON, the three began to lay down the foundation of what would form the potent sound of VYCES. Eventually the band filled out to include MARK JAMES KLEPASKI on bass and EVAN SEIDLITZ to round out the band's hard edged sound on keyboards and synths. Tons of songs have been written by this unit which explore the darker side of human emotions and now an unsuspecting public is getting it's first taste of all that this band has to offer with the bands debut EP DEVILS. The guitar-driven, aggressive approach of the band is balanced the SEIDLITZ's nuanced approach to the keyboards making this first offering from VYCCES something to pay attention to.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

The marriage of punk and pop has often made for a potent blend of music - one that we don't hear too often these days unless you happen to catch an old BLINK 182 song on the radio spun for some retro purpose. Giving the dearth of punk music on the market it is safe to assume that the ground is right enough for a band like WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES to come in and make the form respectable again on the strength of their new EP THE BETTER FRIENDS. Based in Oklahoma, DANIEL BASDEN (bass), STEVEN WALKER (guitar) and BLAKE WESTERBY (drums) have formidable opposition when it comes getting on stage in a market where cover bands and country bands rule the roost. But worry not for these punk rock troubadours. They've got us by the ear with such tracks as TOO MANY COOKS, the slamming title track and FAIR WEATHER and if it takes people getting comfortable with the band through their cover NO DOUBT's SPIDERWEBS so be it. It's all coming from the right place.

About Me

ROCKWIRED.COM was launched on New Years Eve of 2004 as a means of promoting the weekly internet radio show ROCKWIRED LIVE (which LUSH produced and hosted from January 2005 to April 2009). As a means of attracting listeners, LUSH turned the website into a forum where artists could discuss their life and work. This forum became known as the ROCKWIRED ON-LINE EXCLUSIVE and after being billed as such, LUSH noticed something curious. “The number of people who came to ROCKWIRED.COM for the printed interviews was exponentially larger than the number of people that tuned in for the weekly broadcast.” says LUSH. “The website was launched as a satellite for the radio show and eventually the show became the satellite for the website. I never saw that coming.”